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23 January 2015

Employment contribution of the A350 XWB.

Today, the A350 program represents about 16.500 direct jobs, including sub-contractors. 12.500 direct jobs are at Airbus and a little less than 50% in France.

When the production reaches the rate of 10 aircraft per month in 2018, the estimation is that 34.000 direct jobs will be onboard.

The A350 demonstrates that the 'Made in Europe' remains possible when it is innovative. It is assembled in Toulouse, but wing panels are manufactured in Germany and Spain, wings are assembled in UK and some parts are even manufactured outside Europe, including USA.

"On the other hand, in our business, the labor direct-cost is certainly important, but not as much as innovation, expertise and investments. Our problem is the exchange rate dollar/euro more than the hourly cost of labor."

"However, we find in recent years, an increase of overall wage-costs for our staff in France, which came to catch up and even exceed our staff´s in Germany. This is a concern."

"It would be wrong to believe that Companies which innovate, they no longer have to worry about their competitiveness."

All pictures Source FranceBleu

Based on the interview to Fabrice Brégier: « L’enjeu de l’A350, c’est prendre la moitié d’un marché de mille milliards de dollars » published in Les Echos.